A figure stepped out from beneath the trees-and the bard stopped in his tracks. The shape was man-like, a head and taller than Paedur, as thin as a sword – and completely enveloped from head to foot in a cloak of seared and withered leaves. ‘Bard come forth; face me.’ So begin the extraordinary adventures of Paedur the Bard. Confronted by the hideous figure of Mannam, Lord of the Dead, Sovereign of the Silent Wood, a perilous deal is struck. And in the course of its mysterious fulfilment, Paedur travels through awesome, magical realms of enchantment, terror and brutal powers, where the forces of darkness are always at his heels, threatening to engulf the enlightenment he so boldly upholds…

There is a bridge between two worlds, that of Life and that of Death, and Paedur the Bard, Champion of the Old Faith, steps tentatively across the fathomless gulf. Legend speaks of peoples of all races and times still carrying on a semblance of life within the silent Wood of the Dead, kings and peasants, warriors and priests, all living out an eternal parody of their days in the World of Men, perhaps even unaware that they are dead, their kingdoms dust, their time long forgotten. There is even a tale that Mannam, Lord of the Dead, deliberately keeps the finest the World of Men has to offer, the wisest kings, the bravest warriors, the most powerful magicians, the most knowledgeable bards and rules them himself… But no-one knows for certain, for no-one has ever returned from the Land of the Dead to speak of its wonders…

(description from website) ‘Churon showed his teeth in a mirthless smile. “Bard; if the Gods of Faith and Religion go to war, then the resultant destruction will wipe out the myriad planes of life clean of all life, possibly forever.” “And I must do it alone, I suppose?” “Do it whatever way you can, Bard, but do it soon,” Death said, and melted back into the stone walls, and was gone.’ Churon, Deathgod of the Old Faith, had spoken. And Paedur the Bard, Champion of that Faith, took the King Road to the North: on the final quest for the Old Faith, and for his destiny… In the wilds of the North, to encounter Geillard, the deposed emperor, to encounter Mannani, the once-lord of the Dead, sovereign of the Silent Wood. And there to fulfil the final prophecy, to roam the planes of existence, the pages of legend… In this, the third and final volume of the "Tales of the Bard" trilogy, Paedur is instructed by Churon, the new Deathgod of the Old Faith, to go up into the wilds of the North to search for his destiny and overcome the manipulations of Geillard, Manam and the devotees of the New Religion. It is written by the author of the "Tales of the Land of Erin" trilogy and the "Irish Folk and Fairy Tales" trilogy who is also the editor of "Hall's Ireland".